


Inside Down and Upside Out

by Deh Queen (Chainlocker)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Flirting, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Slow Burn, keith is bad at feelings, original characters are mentioned, the pining is too much, these boys are ridiculous
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-04 14:09:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10992513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chainlocker/pseuds/Deh%20Queen
Summary: His mind short-circuits for a second before he shakes his head and glances up at Shiro, who is packing his bag in preparation to leave. Seeing him still distracted, he risks another glance at the photo Pidge sent.Because holy shit, the guy standing there in a gray shirt with a cheap cup of coffee in hand, using his middle finger to simultaneously push black-framed glasses up and flip off the camera, is really hot. Rugged looking shadows of facial hair that Keith somehow just can’t grow, while tan skin seems to glow.It all starts with a simple picture.





	1. A Picture

**Author's Note:**

> ~~Work title from Upside Down & Inside Out by OK Go~~
> 
> Probably going to be posting another chapter for this asap since this is really short, but after that, I'm planning on posting every Friday. It might be sooner than that, depends on how easy this story comes to me.

**To: overly salty potato chip**

Think you can head over here? Shiro is leaving   
And I know without someone else I will have no will to study

**From: overly salty potato chip**

Sure but I got a friend with me. Cool with that?

**To: overly salty potato chip**

Yea, whatever. Who is it?

**From: overly salty potato chip**

You remember what I’ve told you about Lance?   
_ [photo sent] _   
This idito   
*idiot

 

Keith actually stops breathing for a moment as he stares at the picture to stop the strangled noise he knows he would make. His mind short-circuits for a second before he shakes his head and glances up at Shiro, who is packing his bag in preparation to leave. Seeing him still distracted, he risks another glance at the photo Pidge sent.

Because holy shit, the guy standing there in a gray shirt with a cheap cup of coffee in hand, using his middle finger to simultaneously push black-framed glasses up and flip off the camera, is really hot. Rugged looking shadows of facial hair that Keith somehow just can’t grow, while tan skin seems to glow. 

Then his thoughts catch up with him as he realizes that must be Lance. The jackass that Pidge tells him spends most of his time flirting with strangers and messing around. The guy that somehow got into the astronomy program even with how much he made jokes and pulled pranks.

_ How in the hell did someone like that get stuck with such a pretty face? _ Keith thought to himself, missing the fact that Shiro was staring at him.

“What’re you looking at, Keith?” His friend asked him, smirking slightly. Keith jolted, almost forgetting that Shiro was still there.

He drew his phone a bit closer to himself and curled up his knees to his chest. “Nothing… just talking to Pidge.”

Shiro made an unconvinced noise and slowly nodded. “Yeah, sure. Did she send a picture of a guy or something?”

Keith flushed and tried to hide his face. “It’s just a friend of hers.” Then his eyes widened over his knees as he realized his mistake.

Shiro grinned and nodded, pulling out his phone. Keith let out a high-pitched whine and flopped onto his side, still curled into a ball as he hid his red face. Shiro snapped a picture of him anyway and sent it to Pidge.

 

**To: Pidge**

_ [photo sent] _   
Whoever you sent a picture of to Keith, bring him with you   
He needs human interaction

**From: Pidge**

Omfg   
Owiemclwknegwei   
He will never live this down, this is amazing   
Lololololol will do, space dad :D

**To: Pidge**

Pidge….   
Don’t call me space dad @-@

**From: Pidge**

Pappy   
Daddio   
Padre

**To: Pidge**

*sigh*

 

Shiro looked up to Keith, who was still curled up and staring at his phone. He waved to get his attention and grinned.

“Well, I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. See you around, Shiro.”

As the other man made his own way out, Keith sighed and thought his way through the problem here. He knew for a fact that he would die if he let Lance into his dorm because damn his gay heart but Lance was really attractive. Keith didn’t want to make anything awkward, so for the moment, he couldn’t let Lance in. Maybe later, when Keith could get a hold of his feelings.

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, cursing himself for his social anxiety. There was a knock at his door and he sat up quickly, staring.

Another knock came through and Keith got to his feet and walked over, still wearing his black sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He opened the door to see Pidge with her overly large backpack hitched high up on her shoulders.

“Yo, loser,” she greeted as she pushed past him and into the dorm. “Heard you needed some company.”

Keith snorted and rolled his eyes, watching her as she dumped her backpack on the couch and sprawled out in the spot he occupied moments earlier. He moved to close the door but found some resistance instead.

A rather offended voice caught his attention right off as a tan hand wrapped around the edge of the door.

“Hey, I’m here too! Jeez.” The guy following Pidge stepped through and dusted himself off in an overly showy way before turning to Keith with a confident grin. “Guess Pidgey-pie didn’t tell you I was coming along? The name’s Lance.”


	2. A Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada, the second part to this kinda trainwreck of a fic~ enjoy!

Lance stared as the guy standing in front of him seemed to size him up, arms crossed over his chest. Dark hair, oddly colored violet eyes. He was only an inch or two shorter than Lance, though he was slouching so the estimation might’ve been a little off. His hair was a bit too long to be normal, pulled up away from his neck in a ponytail that looked way too good for the mullet that was most likely hidden by it.

Overall, this friend of Pidge’s was pretty damn hot. And Lance was not prepared to deal with a hot guy wearing something as casual as a t-shirt and sweatpants.

“No, Pidge did not tell me that you were coming, Lance,” the guy said, turning to the girl lounging on the couch with a shit-eating smirk. “Whatever. Just don’t make a mess and don’t break anything.”

Lance bristled at his tone but followed him and sat beside Pidge on the couch. He had gotten what he deemed as his required amount of studying done already, so he pulled out his phone to distract himself for now.

“Keith, don’t be salty. You can stand to socialize with someone new every once in awhile,” Pidge teased, flicking Keith’s knee as he came to sit down near her on the floor.

Keith snorted but didn’t say anything as he pulled his textbook into his lap. The room was silent until Lance looked up, rather uncomfortable in the quiet. He lifted a foot and reached across Pidge to poke Keith’s shoulder with the toe of his shoe.

“Yo. Why  _ are _ you so salty?” Lance got a glare in return, but then Keith rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“I’ve been salty ever since a certain pigeon broke my window with a flying disk and refused to pay for it,” Keith replied with a straight face.

Pidge made an offended noise and shoved at Keith’s back. “It wasn’t my fault, Matt told me that it was safe to turn the rpm up!”

At that, Keith snickered, face breaking into an evil smirk. Lance decided then that he needed this guy to smile more.

“Pidge, how many times has Matt told you something with the wrong information? You know you can’t exactly trust him for everything.”

The girl huffed and flicked Keith’s ear hard enough that he winced slightly. “I was young and impressionable back then, you soggy bowl of cereal.”

Keith laughed and shook his head. “You know, it hasn’t been that many years from then… you’re still what, like nine?”

“You are treading dangerous waters here, friend,” she warned with a glint in her eyes. “I am not merciful.”

Lance watched the two with a somewhat fond grin. They bickered on, fitting some studying in while they talked and joked. He was left out for the most part, allowed mess with his phone, but occasionally he would give some commentary. It was nice, oddly comfortable even though he was on the edges of the conversation for once. Keith’s wit was just as sharp as Pidge’s, though more blunt and to-the-point than the younger girl. They teased each other mercilessly, but never went too far as to make anyone angry, and slowly Lance learned just how close they were. He had to wonder how long they had known each other.

Finally, Keith sighed and shut his textbook with a slam and leaned back so that his head rested against the front of the couch’s armrest. “Okay, I can’t focus on this shit anymore. Anybody else up for Netflix?”

Lance sat up and leaned forward with a grin. “Oh, finally I can get into something,” he exclaimed as he clasped his hands together. “What do you want to watch?”

For a moment Keith just stared at him, one eyebrow raised in an unimpressed look. “I was thinking Lost Tapes. What about you, Pidge?”

The girl looked up from her own textbook and pushed up her glasses. “Lost Tapes. The old crappy show about cryptids? Sign me the fuck up.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Lance waved his hands. “Do you guys believe in that junk or not? Like, I think we all know that it’s bullshit but…”

Keith frowned at Lance and shook his head. “Poor skeptic. Of course these things are real, at least some of them. Doesn’t mean that we can’t make fun of shows dumb enough to fake footage of them.”

“Oh boy…” Lance muttered, dropping his head in his hands. “Tonight is gonna be interesting.”

“Of course it is. Maybe me and Pidge will get to explain some real evidence against the moon landing to you. That one is pretty interesting, actually,” Keith explained as he leaned forward, grabbing the edge of his laptop and carefully pulling it out from under a stack of papers. He put it on the small table in front of the couch and opened it before tapping Pidge to move over. As she did so, Keith slid into the space she vacated and searched up the show.

Lance huffed and leaned backwards into the couch, somewhat alarmed by the loud creaking it emitted. He switched directions and leaned forward with a concerned frown. “Uh, dude, what’s with your couch? It sounds like it’s about to fall apart.”

Keith glanced at him and shrugged. “It does that, don’t worry too much about it,” he told Lance distractedly. “Damn, it’s not on Netflix anymore.”

“Go to YouTube,” Pidge quickly jumped in. “YouTube has everything.”

The dark-haired boy nodded and followed Pidge’s directions before sitting back, leaving the show running. “I started it on the death worm episode, I hope you don’t mind.”

Pidge just smacked him into silence and the three of them sat quietly as the episode played. Lance found himself both intrigued and revolted, often cringing at the horrible animation and the below-par acting skills. Eventually, they watched an episode about mermaids that actually somewhat caught Lance’s attention and he found that it was rather fun to just laugh at the show. 

About halfway through an episode, Lance’s legs started to cramp up some and he attempted to stretch out, only to knock his shin into the low table the laptop was set up on. He yelped, earning himself an elbow to the side from Pidge, and drew his long legs back in. Restless, he decided to instead stretch out on top of the other two occupants of the couch.

Lance was about to lunge forward and sprawl out, but held himself in check for just a crucial moment. That would end up with his head in Keith’s lap, and he didn’t know if he could really handle the embarrassment if Keith decided that he didn’t want Lance there.

Instead, Lance swung his legs up and onto the other’s, squirming his way into a comfortable spot so that his head was in Pidge’s lap. He was sure that Keith was giving him a murderous look, but he easily ignored it as he stretched his legs out with a sigh.

“Much better. These long legs get cramped, yknow?” Oddly enough, that seemed to put Keith at ease as he turned his attention back to the show.

Again, things were quiet for a while as they made it through another episode. Lance found himself being somewhat creeped out, even with the bad effects and shoddy acting. It mostly came from his imagination deciding to put himself in the situations depicted in the show and seeing how he would deal with it. He started slightly jumping when there were loud sounds in the show, inwardly cursing himself for doing so.

Then he felt Pidge lean down to whisper in his ear while Keith leaned over his legs, watching with dedicated interest.

“Damn, you really like him, don’t you?”

Without having to ask, Lance knows what she’s getting at and flushes completely. He’s glad for the low light, the only source being the laptop in front of them. In reply he simply wriggles himself into a more comfortable position and does his best to subtly hide his face from Pidge who smirks evilly and sits back with an ominous creak of the couch.

Just a couple episodes later and they were all starting to yawn. Checking his phone, Lance found that it was on 20% as the time flashed  _ 12:05 _ at him. He gave a long, loud yawn and stretched his legs and back with his arms above his head.

“Welp, I think I’m done for tonight. I have an assignment due for tomorrow and if I don’t sleep now I never will,” Lance informed them as he rolled off and to the floor with a muffled thump. He got to his knees with a tired sigh and looked up to see Keith staring at him with a slight smirk.

Pidge got up and stretched her arms above her head with a small noise. “Yeah, I gotta head out as well. Don’t stay up too late, loser.”

Keith snorted and looked up at her, leaving Lance to stare at the pale column of his throat. “Ha. You know that sleep kills me. I’ll probably be up for a few more hours, unless the insomnia decides to be merciful tonight.”

Lance coughed quietly and bounced to his feet as Pidge grabbed her backpack and swung it on with a grunt. He walked to the door, sticking his hands in his pockets as he waited. Pidge rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively.

“Whatever. Say goodbye, loser,” she replied, not indicating who she was talking to. Both of them were too used to the nickname to know.

After a moment’s pause, Keith looking almost panicked, Lance raised a hand and waved a little. “I’ll see you around, Keith. Nice meeting you?”

It came out as more of a question than he meant, but Keith seemed to jump at the words. “Yeah, see you. If you hang out with Pidge a lot we’ll probably be seeing more of each other,” he told Lance, waving in return.

Lance could almost see Pidge’s grin from behind him as she turned and finally marched out the door. Without another word, he slipped out of the dorm after her and breathed a sigh of relief to see that Pidge had whipped her phone out and was texting someone furiously with a malicious grin on her face. The look sent shivers down his spine; Pidge was never up to any good when she grinned like that.

 

Keith was left alone in his dorm for no more than thirty seconds before his phone started lighting up on the table. He willfully ignored the light shining from it in the dark room and the quiet buzzes as he wandered around, cleaning up the slight mess left from his visitors that day. Once that was done he went into his room and took his shirt off, swapping it for a tank top made from a lighter material.

Wandering back out he saw that his phone was now dark and silent and he sighed quietly, thinking over the rather unexpected day. Despite seeming to be an asshole in ways, Lance didn’t seem to be all that bad. Someone that Keith wouldn’t mind becoming friends with or more if-

Keith cut his thoughts off right there and shook his head, scooping his phone up and checking his messages. He refused to make things awkward between him and Lance, if nothing other than for Pidge. She liked keeping her friends close.

 

**From: overly salty potato chip**

Omg you two are hilarious   
So gaaayyyy   
I do hope you like him tho   
Lance might be an ass 80% of the time but he has his moments   
Also I ship you two awkward nerds   
It shall be known as…   
Klance.   
#PerfectShipName   
Since it seems like you’re ignoring me,imma say goodnight you awkward nerd~   
See you tomorrow ;)))))

**To: overly salty potato chip**

Why.

 

After a little while, it seemed like Pidge had fallen asleep. Keith sighed and dropped into his bed, slowly crawling under the blankets. He wasn’t ready to deal with her teasing, not in the least. 

Thankfully, sleep soon came to claim him.


	3. A Drink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith gets dragged out to a party and meets his unexpected friend. Things happen with said unexpected friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo! Finally starting to get into the actual story :'D as always, I thrive on comments with some constructive critisism~~~

It was a week until Keith saw Lance again. It was in a large house, crowded with drunk and tipsy college students that had no care for personal space. It was in the living room of a wide, open house while he was simply trying to find Shiro, who had dragged him along to a party and then disappeared.

Keith just barely caught the wild gesticulations of tan arms out of the corner of his eye and found his gaze drawn to the motion. He’s surprised to see Lance, dressed in a pair of jeans that clung nicely to his legs, missing both his shoes and socks. Lance was also notably shirtless, showing off broad shoulders and a steadily tapering torso, ending with a slim waist. He was grinning, a drink in one hand as he raised his arms and laughed about something that the small group was talking about.

One of the girls standing with him nudged Lance and not-so-subtly pointed Keith out, whispering something to him that he couldn’t make out. Then Keith found blue eyes trained on him, along with a growing grin.

“Keith! Hey, Keith, come over here!” Lance’s voice rose above the music thumping in the house and the constant drone of surrounding conversation. 

Stubbornly, Keith looked away and crossed his arms over his chest with a frown. Lance called his name one more time before the group he had been standing with let out a cheer. Curiously, Keith looked over in time to see Lance slide across the granite-topped counter separating them, his drink still in his hand.

He found his breath stuck in his throat until Lance wrapped an arm around his shoulders, still carrying enough momentum that the two of them rocked to the side. Keith planted his foot and pushed Lance away, who easily accepted the movement.

“Hey there, mullet head,” Lance teased, waggling his eyebrows.

With a sigh, Keith crossed his arms over his chest again and glared at Lance. “You could have walked over here like a normal human being, you know.”

“Ah, but what’s the fun in that?” Lance laughed and poked Keith’s shoulder, who leaned back to avoid it. “You should join me, Keithy boy.”

“I’d… rather not, Lance.” Keith made a face as the other man rolled his eyes and groaned. 

Lance fixed him with a half-assed version of Keith’s own glare after a moment and stepped a bit closer, getting in Keith’s personal space. His cinnamon-vanilla scent washed over him and he resisted the need to lean into it. “Buddy, I will not hesitate to drag you around here with me. You are just as bad as Pidge, and she never comes out of her room unless I bribe her with food!”

At that, Keith had to snort. “Food is valid motivation for almost anything, honestly. Especially breakfast foods.”

Lance’s eyes lit up and he stared at Keith excitedly. “Oh my god, Keefers. Do you have a sweet tooth?”

“I mean… I like sugar as much as the next guy, if that’s what you mean,” Keith answered uneasily, taking a half step back. “Where are you even pulling these ridiculous nicknames from anyways?”

Lance grinned a bit wider. “One, I called it. You won’t hide from me, mullet, I know your weakness! And two, they come from the brilliant machine that is my brain!”

Keith’s face deadpanned as he stared at Lance. “You mean they actually make stuff like that? I always thought they overpriced stuff as empty as that.”

For a few seconds, Lance looked confused. Keith basked in the smug satisfaction of watching the other man’s face morph into understanding and then into a perfect look of offense, blue eyes widening.

Lance slapped a hand to his bare chest, mouth gaping open. “Keith! So rude, what did I ever do to deserve this? I, who have saved you from the party awkwardness and initiated a conversation so you did not have to, am being punished for crimes that I swear I did not commit.”

“You crushed a Cheeto into my carpet when you visited,” Keith replied calmly, the only hint of his amusement being the way his eyes narrowed slightly. “And whatever cologne you were wearing has yet to leave my dorm.”

Keith watched as Lance’s eyes widened a little, and he had the grace to look embarrassed. “Aw man, seriously? I didn’t realize.”

For a moment, Keith’s stoic face held out as he stared at Lance, taking in the tousled brown hair once again. Then it broke and he let out an amused noise that he tried desperately to keep down, putting a hand over his mouth. Lance narrowed his eyes at him and pouted. His arm shot out and latched onto Keith’s wrist, tugging him forward.

Keith yelped and tried to lean backwards, but Lance barrelled on towards the small crowd that had gathered around the tables stocked with drinks. He pushed through the crowd ahead of Keith, giving him a bit of room to maneuver in his wake. Keith was grateful for that little bit of space, nervous about strangers getting too close. When Lance stopped he tossed the last of his drink down and tossed the bottle in the trashcan with a clink before grabbing another two drinks. He turned around and Keith found one of the bottles pushed into his hand as he stared at Lance’s wide grin, his blue eyes dancing in the multicolored lights of the party.

“Cheers, my dude. Tonight you can let loose! Grab a girl by the arm, or guy if that’s your preference, and have some fun!”

Keith found himself hesitantly smiling back and shrugging slightly. “I can try. It’s just… hard to deal with people sometimes.”

Lance slung his arm around his shoulders and led him out from the crowd and to a quieter spot. “Hey hey hey, Keith, my man. It’s not so hard once you get used it, really. All you have to do is find something interesting to start a conversation about. Just watch this,” he said, pulling Keith over to a girl with long blonde dreadlocks that she wore pulled up into a ponytail high on her head.

The girl turned and tilted her head, smiling as she saw the two of them approaching. Lance grinned back easily and stopped just a step away from her. “Hey, I totally love your hair! Is it naturally that color or do you dye it?”

She laughed, tilting her head back and flicking a few of her dreads off her shoulder. “Thanks! I’m a natural blonde, but there’s a little bit of dying on. What’s your name?”

“I’m Lance, very nice to meet you my lady,” he smirked and poked Keith’s cheek to get him engaged in the conversation. “And this is Keith, a buddy of mine.”

Not knowing what else to do, Keith raised a hand and slowly waved, the very picture of social awkwardness. Lance grinned regardless and took a swig of his drink, silently urging Keith to do the same as he jokingly swayed the two of them, shoulder to shoulder.

“I’m Nyma,” the girl watched them with her own wide grin. “Nice to meet you two. How are you enjoying the party so far?”

Surprisingly enough Keith found himself snorting. “I was dragged along with my brother, so I didn’t get much choice.”

Lance snickered quietly and patted his head, not deterred in the slightest by the scowl Keith shot at him as he ducked his head. “Oh Keithy boy, you’re such a party pooper! Let  _ loose,  _ have some  _ fun  _ for once!”

And, with a couple drinks and the constant companion of Lance, he does. Slowly, Keith feels the alcohol start to affect him and he finds himself smiling easier, watching his friend make a fool of himself. It’s so easy to see why people love him, when he’s in his element. The way he dances, a combination of lanky, flailing limbs to get people to laugh and the snap of his hips side to side to the beat of music he doesn’t know. His grins are infectious even for the usually reserved Keith, and at some point he finds himself swept out to the dancefloor.

Lance pulls him in by the wrists and he’s so, so close to Keith’s face with that grin as he sways to the music, bouncing on the balls of his feet with boundless energy. Keith feels the flush ride high on his cheeks as he smiles back, reluctantly tapping his feet in a sort-of-but-not-quite dance.

“So, see anyone you’re interested in? Pretty sure I’ve caught you staring at this girl that’s been hanging out behind me.” Lance grinned, all confidence and amusement.

Keith raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “What?”

“Hey, come on. I won’t judge if you’ve got your eye on a girl! You should take a chance at it, you could get lucky-”

Cutting Lance off by clapping his hand over his mouth, Keith leaned forward, his face confused and almost hurt. “Lance, I’m not interested in girls. I’m gay.”

It takes a moment for that to sink in, but then Lance rolls his eyes and nods, pulling Keith’s hand away. “Ahhhh, okay. Then the guy over there with her? That makes sense too, he’s pretty damn hot as well.”

Keith barks out a short laugh but shrugs, nodding. No other way to really keep his crush hidden.  _ Crush. _ He hates it, that he’s so desperately attracted to his guy that he’s only met once before and been told countless times about how he’s an asshat. But it is what it is, he supposes, and it’s mostly just physical attraction. Mostly.

He’s dragged to the present again after a moment as Lance grins and turns a little. “I think that I’m going to get you a date, my dude!”

Keith sputters and panics, grabbing Lance’s arm before he can go anywhere. “Wait, wait!”

Lance stops and turns back to him, one wonderfully expressive eyebrow raised. “Huh?”

“How the hell are  _ you _ going to get  _ me  _ a date? You don’t even know if the guy is interested in guys!”

At that, Lance gives him a terrifying grin. “I don’t, but,” he sings, voice just present above the music. “I will have you know that I am the king of flirting, and I don’t restrict myself to one side of the spectrum or the other.” With a wink, Lance tried to pull away but was again stopped by Keith.

“Dear god, please don’t.” Keith’s face was red, both because he didn’t want Lance going out and flirting with someone else on his behalf, and because  _ Lance was interested in guys. _ He didn’t need any more fuel for his stupid crush, knowing that it could technically be possible because Lance didn’t ‘restrict himself to one side of the spectrum’.

“Aw man, don’t be shy. It’s just a guy, the worst thing he can do is say no,” Lance argued, laughter in his eyes as he stared at him.

Keith shook his head and pulled Lance closer to him nervously. “No, it’s just - I was just looking. It’s nothing.”

Lance let out a much exaggerated sigh and deflated, nearly folding himself in half as he stretched his arms down to his toes. “Fine,” he drawled defeatedly. “I won’t, but only because you asked so damn nicely.”

The night evolves smoothly from there, Lance still dragging Keith from group to group until he’s mentally exhausted from listening to so much gossip. And Lance… well, he drinks. And drinks. He drinks enough that Keith gradually becomes alarmed at how much alcohol his new friend was consuming. After a couple hours Lance is giggling drunkenly as he leans on Keith’s shoulder and slurring his words as he speaks to a group of equally drunk girls.

It’s Keith who pulls Lance away, only to find that the other man  _ won’t let go of him. _ Lance keeps his arms wrapped around Keith’s shoulders, burying his face between his shoulderblades with a deep sigh.

“Lance,” Keith warns. “Stand up.”

“Buh why? You shoul’ carry me,” Lance replies, his lanky limbs wrapping around Keith as he spoke tiredly. “You’re really warm, yknow.”

Keith stared out into oblivion with a dead look as Lance managed to drag himself onto Keith’s back, legs tight around his waist and arms clinging around his neck. After a moment of struggling with his emotions, he sighed and slapped his hands to his face with a groan.

“Lance, I hate you. You. Are an asshat.”

The man on his back snorted and giggled in Keith’s ear as he nuzzled his neck, nose cold on Keith’s skin. “Nah, eve’ybody loves me. I’m just kinda the loveable idiot, yknow?”

Keith groaned and reached back, bouncing Lance up so he could grab his phone and get Hunk to pick the fool up and bring him back to their dorm. Lance just grumbled amiably and held onto Keith a bit tighter.

“M’ really glad that I have so many attractive friends. Even you, Keith, with your dumb mullet.” Lance snickered and yawned, pressing his cheek to Keith’s shoulder. “It makes it hard to keep up, but you guys are great.”

Keith snorted at the backhanded compliment and looked at the sleepy drunk Lance on his back, biting his lip to keep his smile down. He refused to admit to even himself that the tan boy was adorable as he was blinking tiredly with big blue eyes staring into space. He called Hunk and didn’t have to wait long until the big guy’s voice came through from the other side.

_ “Hello?” _

“Hey, Hunk. I’m at a party and Lance is… drunk. Very drunk.”

A sigh and some rustling, probably as Hunk shifted around.  _ “Alright, I’ll be over in just a few. You’re just at the party down the street, right? Steven’s house, I think?” _

Keith coughed awkwardly and looked around. “Yeah, I think Shiro said something about a Steven. He was the one who dragged me along, so I didn’t really pay attention when he was talking about it.”

Hunk laughed and Keith got the feeling he was grinning widely as well.  _ “Yeah, I know the feeling. Lance has dragged me to a fair share of parties. Anywho, I’ll see you there alright?” _

“Right. See you, Hunk.”

Lance had mostly passed out on Keith’s back at that point, just barely hanging on enough to keep his grip firm so he didn’t fall. Keith looped his arms around Lance’s thighs and made sure he wouldn’t slip off as they waited.

Thankfully, Hunk came soon and walked up to the two of them still in the entry room of the house, avoiding the cold of the outside. “Oh gosh, sorry you had to deal with drunk Lance, man. I know he can be a handful when he’s had too much to drink.”

Keith shrugs as Hunk carefully disentangles Lance from his back and simply throws the other over his shoulder with a grunt of effort. It’s rather impressive, really, but it seems that he’s used to carrying Lance around.

“It’s fine, it wasn’t too bad. He’s just… very clingy.”

Hunk laughs and nods sympathetically. He knows how iffy Keith is with physical touch at the best of times. After a moment, Keith yawns and lets his head droop forward until he hears his name called by a very familiar voice.

Keith looks up to see Shiro approaching with a grin, showing no sign of being affected by any sort of alcohol besides the extra sway in his hips. Keith is starting to feel the last drink he had kick in, making his mouth feel full of cotton and his lips slack. Smartly, he shuts his mouth before he can say anything to Shiro and just watches him come closer.

“Have a good time at the party, Keith? Sorry that I kinda ditched you like that, guess I got a bit swept up with Allura.”

Keith snorts and closes his eyes, resisting the temptation to sit down on the floor of the entry room. Instead, he leans his weight against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest. Fighting the gentle push in his gut, he lets his mind drift away from the conversation Shiro and Hunk have struck up. The night had been… nice. Much better than he had expected when Shiro had first pulled him out of his dorm with a promise of a party. And it was because of Lance, the guy he had been told was an asshole and a flirt, apparently with everybody regardless of gender. And while those two facts were both partially true, they didn’t come close to explaining the whole of the character that was Lance.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a hand being dropped onto his shoulder. His eyes flickered upwards to catch Shiro’s knowing look and Hunk’s smile as the big guy waved.

“I’ll see you around, Keith. Again, sorry about Lance, I’m sure he didn’t mean any damage he may or may not have done.” 

Keith waved a hand and shook his head. “‘S fine, he didn’t do anything. See you, Hunk.”

Hunk grinned widely and waved back as he stepped out the door. There was a few moments of silence where Keith prayed to get away without a Dad Talk from Shiro, who stood beside him with a shit-eating grin.

“So…”

“Nope, I’m not going to talk to you unless it’s for a ride back to my place or a cup of coffee.”

Shiro laughed and patted Keith’s shoulder reassuringly. “Seriously, I hope you had a good time. It’s good for you to make friends, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah,  _ dad. _ Get off my back, I’m good with the friends that I’ve got so far.” Keith waved him off and leaned a bit more against the wall, blinking slowly. “But I do need a ride home… drinks are starting to catch up to me.”

“I’m kind of impressed that you’re still so coherent. Pretty sure I saw you go through three bottles tonight, if I was counting well enough.” Shiro smirked but didn’t press the previous matter as he pulled open the door and led Keith out by the arm.

“Heh. You should’ve seen Lance, he got through like seven. M’ seriously concerned about his health if he can drink like that.”

Shiro let out a low whistle as he led Keith over to the car, opening the door for him before circling around to the driver’s side. “Jesus, that’s…”

“Dangerous? Idiotic? Oddly impressive? I agree with all of the above.” Keith scowled to himself as he pulled the door shut, hunkering down in his seat in preparation for the ride back to campus. The frigid November temperatures make his mind wander again.

Unsurprisingly, his thoughts were taken over by a certain blue-eyed man. He had been gone for a week, where Pidge wasn’t complaining about him getting in the way of her work for her programming class or trying to drag her out for coffee or to the arcade. It seemed quiet, but could he even say that? Keith wasn’t even directly interacting with Lance and still was almost always barraged by things concerning him. Lance was gone over Thanksgiving weekend and Keith was missing the little annoyed ramblings that Pidge sent him about the lanky asshole.

When the car stopped Keith wandered up to his dorm with an absent goodbye to Shiro as they parted ways. He made sure to drink a few cups of water before heading to bed, flopping down with a groan. Social experiences always left him feeling almost physically exhausted, to the point where it was a struggle to kick his boots and pants off and crawl under the sheets.

Keith closed his eyes and already felt sleep pulling him down into the nice warmth of his stack of blankets.

 

 

Lance woke up with a pounding headache, his eyes feeling gummy with sleep. Every beat of his heart was matched with a throb that spread through his neck and up to his skull, slamming a rhythm behind his eyes. He let out a long breath and pried his eyelids apart, preparing himself for the brightness of his dorm room and groaning at the pain.

Slowly, oh so slowly, he dragged himself upright and hung his head. Rubbing his temples, Lance looked up and found a glass of water sitting on the nightstand with a sticky note beside it.

_ Make sure you drink up once you wake up! -Hunk _

Lance felt a grin tug at his lips as he grabbed the glass and chugged the liquid quickly, tipping his head back. A small trickle of water spilled out around his mouth and dripped down his cheek with a cold trail, but he didn’t mind much. Once the water had been drained, Lance carefully leaned back against the wall beside his bed and fished out his phone among the sheets.

 

**To: a hunk o burnin love**

Hey, thanks for taking care of me last night bro ;)

**From: a hunk o burnin love**

No problem, man   
Seems you had a good time at the party with Keith!

**To: a hunk o burnin love**

Oh yeah, how did that end up???   
I… can’t exactly remember how I got back to my dorm   
Oh god did Keith have to drag my ass here??????   
God that would be so embarrassing…

**From: a hunk o burnin love**

Nah, I came and picked you up   
You were hanging off him, though   
Like, koala-cling mode, dude

**To: a hunk o burnin love**

OIMCWENGLWE   
fUCK   
Jesus, I probably made him so awkward…   
Dammit, hunk! I don’t want to make things weird between us   
Also holy shit wait what   
Keiht does NOT look that fuckin strong 

**From: a hunk o burnin love**

I don’t think he minded all that much Lance, calm down   
Pretty sure he was drunk as well, so he can’t hold anything against you   
You could just text him, yknow?

**To: a hunk o burnin love**

Yeah, that’s probably smart. Make sure there’s ntohing weird between us   
Thank you, hunk. My dude. My main man

**From: a hunk o burnin love**

Np, man

 

 

 

**To: certified fbi hacker**

PIDGE   
I NEED KEITH’S NUMBER   
ASAP

**From: certified fbi hacker**

Took you long enough, loser   
Have fun, you half-gay fuck

**To: certified fbi hacker**

I take offense to that, Pidgey   
And to think that I thought of you as a sister   
:’(

**From: certified fbi hacker**

:)

Lance took a deep breath as he punched in the number Pidge gave him. He could only pray that the girl hadn’t just pranked him with a fake number, but it was worth a shot. He sat staring at the number for a few minutes before he started typing in a message, focus on the keyboard even with his pounding headache.

 

**To: mullet head**

Hey Keith, so sorry about last night. Hope I didn’t like, make it awkward between us! This is Lance, btw

**From: mullet head**

Hey, this is Keith. Just checking in to make sure you’re doing alright

 

Lance immediately slapped his hands over his face and let out a yelp at the jolt of pain.  _ Shit. _ He was not prepared to handle this situation, not in the least. It was just going to be him checking up on Keith, not the other way around! He suddenly felt his face heating up and groaned to himself, cursing his random moments of awkwardness.

Not knowing what else to do, Lance picked his phone up again and frantically texted Hunk once again.

 

**To: a hunk o burnin love**

HUNK   
MISSION FAILED, ABORT ABORT   
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING

**From: a hunk o burnin love**

??????????   
What happened???????????   
Did he yell at you or something????????????

**To: a hunk o burnin love**   
No no no, he just   
He texted me at the same time I texted him   
And he was making sure I was alright   
And now I don’t???   
WHat do??????   
Oh god what if he thinks I’m creepy?????????

**From: a hunk o burnin love**

Lance   
He’s your friend, right?   
Friends have each other’s numbers   
It’s fine   
Just… talk to him. Keith isn’t that bad with people

**To: a hunk o burnin love**

Hunk, god bless you for making things make sense in my life   
I don’t know what I would do without you

**From: a hunk o burnin love**

Probably be without a competent friend cook   
And be a sad, sad person with very little in the way of friends   
Luckily, you have all of the above :)


End file.
